Old Saltwater?

[jcook54]

Any issues you guy can think of to always keeping 10g or so of saltwater mixed up? I usually make it as needed to water changes but I've been doing so much deep "cleaning" that I have 3g left and thought about just adding RODI and throwing some salt in. Any issues you can think of having saltwater in a container for a week or two? Any issues with never starting from scratch and just adding water and salt to the container never gets dried out? Usually I use it all, clean the container, let it dry out and start over again.

 

[Adam]

No there's no issues if it's not kept too long. Many people set up auto water change systems that change out a gallon or two per day and they make a weeks or more at a time.

It is good practice to keep the water moving after it's mixed if you're going to let it sit more than a day. So if you make 10 gallons put a tiny powerhead in there to keep some circulation happening.

 

[lshin037]

Searched this exact same thing. RHF says it could be stored for weeks.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-long-can-i-leave-fresh-saltwater-mix-in-a-container.361392/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-store-saltwater.351618/

 

[skriz]

You'll want to keep it circulated.

 

[Steve Burton]

I keep a 55 gallon drum made, I put a pump to run 15 minutes every hour on a timer

 

[AquariumSchmo]

I have heard of some salts losing alkalinity when kept for more than a week or two. Don't know if there is any truth in that, but might be beneficial to test along with salinity before using. But perhaps they just didn't keep a very tight seal on the container.

 

[skriz]

I have heard of some salts losing alkalinity when kept for more than a week or two. Don't know if there is any truth in that, but might be beneficial to test along with salinity before using. But perhaps they just didn't keep a very tight seal on the container.

Yep, you can definitely precipitate some things depending on the mix and the setup.

 

[camellia]

Agree, I’ve keep it in clean containers with PH on timer for 2 weeks with no problems.

 

[enderg60]

I keep between 50 and 200 gallons mixed at all times. In an open container(sealed is WAY better) in my basement, with a pump moving it one hour on, one hour off. I have no issues leaving it like that for a month before use.

Water movement is key. Stagnant water goes bad.

 

[jcook54]

I like the idea of running it on a time. I always just have a circulation pump running. I imagine I could save a dollar or two but putting it on one of those cheap rotary timers. Is that why y'all run the pumps in an on/off cycle? I suppose it could save pump life as well?

 

[Adam]

If it's just 10 gallons one of these will do. I wouldn't put a timer on it unless it caused clouding. The amount of power these use would take a long time to recoup the cost of a timer and if it fails in 5yrs they're cheap enough to replace. Now 25+ gallons would be a bigger pump and a timer.

 

[enderg60]

Well my mix pump is a mag 12 so yeah I dont want that running all day every day. I wouldnt worry about a power head though.

 

[saltwaterwannabe]

I used to always keep salt mixed up and heated, turning over almost constantly
I would use half, top off and add salt again I did this for a couple years without issue. At some point a layer of skimlike material was floating on top of the salt mix brute. I never tested the water itself, but I was having phos issues in my dt so I wad making water changes a couple times a week.

When I realized there was a skim of stuff on the water surface I sterilized my brutes, changed my rodi filters, then returned to operation as before. The skim returned a few weeks later so I resterilized, stopped heating the water, and now usually leave the salt half strength if it is to sit for more than a few days. I have not seen the skim surface come back yet.

I had also changed salts prior to the skim forming. From what I have read the salt change may be the culprit, but the skim has not returned and I am liky using the most popular salt around. From what I have read, it seems the additives (or remnants of natural stuff) can cause the issue I had and this can be exacberated by heat.